Out at Night
by pietoraven36
Summary: Raven gets seperated from Nero and has to survive a night in the forest. Someone joins her...


**Please review! Sorry I just had this epiphany and I wanted to write it! And also thank sailorraven! Sorry this isn't exactly the plotline you wanted! :}**

Raven threw the stick to the side as she pushed her way through the thick forest. She slapped the bug biting her arm and hissed in anger. She looked up at the darkening sky with a growing sense of concern. It was going to be too dark to do anything soon.

Her and Nero had been traveling back to H.I.V.E. from a meeting with Diabolus when their Shroud, faithful as they were, had been shot to the ground. She honestly had no idea what had become of the pilot or Nero, but she wanted to find them before the sun was out. Unfortunately that wasn't going to be the case.

Raven looked around with irritation. This place didn't seem like it was going to be cold, but then again a desert didn't either. There was plenty of stuff she could use for survival around here, but staying warm was probably her best bet. However the more pressing concern was the gash in her leg. It had happened in the crash unsurprisingly, but the pain was hell. The bleeding had stopped for the most part but the ache wouldn't subside.

Raven stepped over a fallen tree with a wince of pain. She mentally cursed. Why hadn't she brought more supplies? Surely something could have been scavenged. But then again, ejecting yourself from a Shroud never was an easy task and taking things with you was even harder.

The trees surrounding her were tall and skinny, not of much use for climbing to get off the ground. She bent and picked up a small rock. Running her finger over the top, it had a rather sharp edge. That would probably come of use later.

A flock of birds suddenly exploded from the plants next to her and Raven moved away from it, wishing that the wilderness could stop playing with her nerves. The buzzing of bugs in her ear was truly annoying.

Suddenly Raven heard the sound of a chopper heading her way. It was too early for H.I.V.E. to have sent anyone so Raven quickly lowered herself to the ground. She was in the shade of trees, that would help a little, but she was still all in black.

Just as the helicopter was going over top of her, a heavy weight careened into her and she was slammed to the dirt floor.

Raven shook her head violently to shake away the black edge to her vision. A burning sensation spread over her scalp and she heard the helicopter pass over. With a grunt, she kicked out at the person on top of her. The man stood up and stepped back, eyes narrowed.

"Furan!" Raven hissed, looking up at him, heart pounding.

Pietor half-sneered in reply "What are you doing here?"

Raven used the tree to help herself up and his eyes immediately went to her injury. She knew it was foolish, but there wasn't an alternative to getting up.

"Escaping from the grasps of a man like you apparently. I hope it was enjoyable tackling me to the ground." Raven snarled, guard up.

"On the contrary I think taking advantage of a woman is rather disturbing." Pietor replied "Now." he walked two steps closer and slammed her to the tree behind him, blade suddenly pressed to her throat.

"Tell me why you're here." he said, close to her ear "Or I'll make you tell me."

"You…first!" Raven spat back.

"I don't think so." Pietor replied, pressing into her wound.

Raven's face changed to one of pain and she tried to shove him back. Pietor was too strong for her however and it did nothing.

"Max and I were returning from a business trip." she growled out through her teeth. That couldn't hurt anything.

"What kind of business?" Pietor asked, easing up on the pressure.

Raven heaved forward, hands breaking free. She threw a few quick-witted punches at his torso and he blocked them all, dropping the blade. Raven went on the offensive, stepping forward. Pietor kicked at her legs, elbow swinging for her face. The younger assassin retaliated quickly, jumping the trap and struggling to duck from the hit.

"You're slow." Pietor hissed in her ear "What did Nero do to you?"

The name filled her with anger and she rushed forward with another attack. Pietor then, jabbed her wound and smacked her across the face, ending that bout.

Raven lay on the ground, breathing hard, and sweat beading on her forehead. Pietor leaned over and grabbed her arm to pull her up. She trembled, not from fear, although that contributed, but mostly from the stress her body had taken that day.

"What do you want?" she said, painfully.

"I would like the truth from you. You and your people attacked my base." Pietor growled "Did you really think I'd let you get away with that?"

"We weren't anywhere near your _base_." Raven spat "At least not intentionally."

"Don't lie to me." Pietor said, kicking her wound. Raven gasped and she would have fallen had it not been for Pietor holding her up.

"We weren't there for your people, Pietor." she said.

"Who attacked us then?" Pietor asked, shaking her.

"I don't know." Raven said through her teeth "The same people who attacked me and Nero I would guess."

"Nero's here?" Pietor asked.

"We were separated; I have no idea where he is." Raven snarled "Now let me go!"

"Not until you calm down." Pietor replied, with a cold smile "I think we need an attitude adjustment here."

"I think _you_ -" Raven kneed him in the stomach with her good leg "should burn in hell!"

Pietor released her, partly because the wind was knocked out of him and partly because if she ran away now, he could be rid of her.

Unfortunately, Raven had other plans. She delivered a straight kick to his chin, Pietor just managed to move and soften the blow a bit. She punched him across the jaw and he backed up, trying to get his stability back.

The sound of the chopper was coming back and the assassin looked up. Without hesitation he grabbed Raven around the mouth to muffle her noise and pressed them against the tree. Raven struggled angrily, but Pietor kept his eyes on the sky until it passed. He let her go, partly shoving her to ground.

"I'm looking for whoever attacked my base, but I'd rather not get killed in the process." he said.

"That's a shame." Raven said, spitting out something from her mouth.

"Where did you crash land?" Pietor asked, ignoring her.

"Oh so we're a team now?" Raven sneered "Thanks, it's gratifying, but I'm not interested."

"I don't care whether you're _interested_." Pietor growled "If you give up our location, we're done, captured. So I suggest you shut up and listen to me."

"How do I know these aren't _your_ men?" Raven asked, eyes narrowed.

"They're not. My men would have found us by now." Pietor replied.

"How skilled." Raven sneered.

Pietor simply looked down at her for several seconds until she growled in frustration.

"What would you like?"

"I'm perfectly comfortable with rendering you unconscious and leaving you here to be found." Pietor said "Unless, like I suggested, you would like to come with me so we can both get back to our duties. It'll be easier with two of us together and they're less likely to spot two people in one place than two people in two places."

"Maybe I don't want you to get back to your _duties_." Raven said "It seems to me you're currently working against G.L.O.V.E."

"Temporary employment." Pietor said "You'd understand except for the fact that Nero ruined you."

Raven narrowed her eyes.

"Now, we're losing daylight." he growled "What's it going to be?" he held out a hand.

Raven didn't move for a second, before letting out a breath and reaching to shake his hand.

"Good." Pietor said, turning.

"Do you know your way around here?" she asked, suspiciously.

He snorted "I'd be lying if I said I did."

"What happened to you then?"

Pietor shot her a look "My transport was also damaged. I honestly have no idea how far away we are from anything."

Raven sighed "Then we'd better find some sort of shelter. They'll be sending out people to find us soon enough."

"Thank you, Natalya, I had no idea." Pietor replied, sarcastically "Let's go!"

Raven slowly followed him, still not entirely sure about any of this. It wasn't as if this was the man who'd killed her friends and abused her as a child.

###

It was dark now. There was only a small moon overhead as Raven looked up to examine the sky. The tops of the trees were a spooky shape up next to the moon. She sat beside a rather big fire that Pietor had started. It cracked in silence forest and little sparks flew everywhere. They had made camp next to a clump of trees for extra protection and in case the wind picked up.

Raven looked back at the sound of footsteps behind her suddenly. Pietor was walking back over to her, a pile of wood in his hand. She didn't say anything and neither did he, even when he dropped it next to the fire with a crash.

Raven found herself wanting to move away as Pietor sat down as well. Not that he was doing anything threatening, but his presence kind of tipped her over to insanity. At least her leg wasn't aching so badly anymore. She'd torn a piece of her jumpsuit off to put on it just to stop the blood and she was surprised at how much that helped. The leaves of the trees swayed in the wind and Raven looked up at the rustling sound.

"Are you warm enough?" Pietor asked, moving to take off his jacket, but Raven nodded and that seemed to relieve the tension.

"How far from civilization do you think we are?" Raven asked quietly after a moment.

"Far enough." Pietor replied gruffly "I doubt we'd be able to get anywhere without a transport."

"G.L.O.V.E. will send out a search and rescue by tomorrow." Raven said "They'll have noticed that Nero and I haven't returned."

"You think they'd be able to find you in here?" Pietor asked scathingly.

"I'm fairly certain." Raven replied, keeping her voice steady "If given time."

Pietor sniffed contemptuously, but he didn't argue the subject "Well they won't be coming tonight. I'll keep first watch. Get some sleep."

Raven narrowed her eyes slightly at him "No."

Pietor scowled at her for a moment "Fine, we can stay up all night and wait for someone to come and find us."

"Good." Raven replied.

He rolled his eyes in annoyance "Have fun with that." he leaned back and laid down, arms tucked under his head.

Raven just continued to look at him warily. She shook her head and moved her gaze back to the fire.

Pietor stared up at the dark, star-filled sky silently. He knew Raven well enough to know that she didn't trust him and probably wouldn't even by the time they separated. But he also knew her well enough that she would stick with him until they found Nero or another G.L.O.V.E. operative. She wouldn't risk him getting angry with her at least until morning.

###

Raven woke up to someone nudging her head with their foot. She opened her eyes and was halfway sitting up within two seconds.

"Relax." Pietor said "It's just me."

He walked past her and began kicking dirt over the fire. Raven sat up; irritated that she'd allowed herself to fall asleep. She'd been up until about four in the morning and judging by the sun, it was around six.

"Let's get moving." Pietor said, offering a hand "Before the others start sending out people to find us."

Raven eyed his hand and raised an eyebrow before standing up without it. Pietor sniffed derisively, but said nothing.

"Which way?" Raven asked "We could be miles from anywhere."

"Then I think we should keep up a swift pace." Pietor replied, turning and heading in the same direction she had been heading the previous day before she'd been tackled to the floor.

"I agree. But unless we know where we're headed we'll be running for hours without accomplishment." Raven growled.

Pietor let out an irritated breath "Natalya, we have _no idea_ where we are. Neither of us knows where we're heading let alone how far. The best thing we can do is keep moving."

"Which was that helicopter heading?" she asked "We should head in that direction."

Pietor looked up at the sky "Why? We don't know if they were heading away from their base or towards it."

"Well it's better than nothing." Raven replied.

"Hence, this way." Pietor growled. He continued walking and Raven followed with a resigned sigh.

The two of them traveled for a few miles with no sign of anything. The sun was climbing higher in the air every step they took and Raven was getting annoyed. He had no idea what he was doing.

Still though, she followed him. Pietor said nothing to her as he stopped suddenly and Raven froze at the sound of leaves rustling and twigs snapping.

"She can't be far from where the Shroud wrecked if she ejected herself at such low altitude." came one man's voice. He sounded irritated and the other man replied with as much annoyance.

"Like I said, we're looking for a dead body. If she's not dead then she's twenty miles away by now."

Pietor looked at her with one raised eyebrow, before backing up with her to the tree behind them. Four men fought their way through the thick bush and looked around for a moment.

Raven began to get lower to the ground and Pietor suddenly jumped up to a low branch and heaved himself up. She looked up at him with a scowl and he gestured at her to wait.

The men walked until they were just about past the tree and then Pietor jumped down, flattening one to the ground as he had done to Raven the day before. The other men turned around and she joined in with Pietor. The men desperately tried to pull out their guns, but with an elbow jammed in your face it took a bit more effort.

When three of them were sufficiently unconscious, Pietor pulled the final forth to his feet. He was bleeding from a small scratch on his face that must have come from the debris on the ground. Pietor leaned in close and his eyes widened in fear.

"Who are you?" Pietor growled, clenching the man's uniform tightly.

He laughed even though his eyes showed a different emotion than amusement. Pietor narrowed his eyes at him and backed him up to the tree. The man's eyes got wider still and he struggled to breathe through the hand on his throat.

"I won't ask nicely again." the assassin said, through his teeth.

"It wasn't particularly kind the first time." the man replied.

Pietor twisted his arm viciously and the man yelled out, but Pietor jerked him back against the tree to quiet him.

"Who are you?" he asked "And who do you work for? Why did you attack us?"

The man winced angrily in pain "You'll get nothing from me."

"Fine, I don't need you. Tell me how far away your transports are and maybe I'll kill you quickly." he twisted his injured arm and the man hissed in pain.

"It's a few miles from here." he growled "But there are too many men for you to handle if you try there. You'll be dead the second you set foot in there."

"I thought you wanted us alive." Pietor replied, bringing back a fist and knocking him out cold.

Raven looked down at the men and reached down to pick up one of their pistols.

"Are you going to shoot me now?" Pietor asked, walking past her with a snort. He scooped up one as well and began walking in the direction the men had come from.

"If only." Raven muttered in frustration. She hurried after.

"That didn't seem particularly effective." she growled.

"We have a direction now." he replied.

"You heard what he said. We have no idea what we're getting into."

"Are you scared?" Pietor asked, turning abruptly to face her. Raven leaned back to avoid running into him.

"No." she said shortly.

"Good. I didn't want to have to add coward to the list." he said, turning back away. Raven glared at him from behind.

"Come on we only have a few more miles." Pietor replied, his voice a little less cold as he said that.

###

The two assassins crept up to the dozens of transports and cars that were parked in a cleared area of the forest. There didn't appear to be anyone around however, in fact it seemed abandoned. Pietor frowned and Raven looked around with narrowed eyes.

Pietor came out from the tree and started walking forward.

"Pietor." Raven growled in annoyance.

"Shh." Pietor replied "Just listen."

The younger assassin fell silent and very slowly followed him out. There were voices coming from somewhere beyond the transports and she assumed the men were behind the cluster.

"Let's go around." Raven said, quietly "Then we can size them up before we rush in."

Pietor shot her a glare, but he didn't object. They continued on around the base of the mysterious men and the noise only increased. Raven almost seemed to perk up at the sound of a familiar voice.

"I want all of them handcuffed and loaded onto the Shrouds." Nero ordered as they came into view from around an abandoned transport. G.L.O.V.E. and H.I.V.E. operatives were taking the prisoners to the Shrouds in a very orderly manner. The Colonel stood beside him, surveying it all.

Nero's face went from one of greeting, to surprise, then suspicion. He stared at Pietor Furan as Raven walked up. The assassin almost smiled in amusement and decided after a moment to walk up to him as well.

"Natalya." Nero said "I'm glad to see you're alright." even as he said this, he looked at Pietor and the Colonel's hand went immediately to his holster.

"I think she's glad to see you too." Pietor replied "I didn't realize how far your relationship went."

"And may I ask exactly what's going on here?" Nero asked, narrowing his eyes.

Raven was going to explain, but Pietor beat her to it.

"Oh it was much like what happened to you." he said "I found Natalya in the forest and I escorted her out."

Raven shot him a look.

"Somehow I doubt that." Nero said "You seem willing enough to walk into G.L.O.V.E.'s business; perhaps you would join us on our trip home so we can discuss that."

"Unfortunately I have my own business to attend too." Pietor replied.

"I wasn't asking." Nero said.

"And I'm refusing. Funny how that works isn't it." Pietor said "Besides is this how you treat someone your operative allied with last night? I hope not. Unless you want this to turn into a bloodbath because I believe my own team just arrived." he nodded behind them.

Nero glanced back to see several of his men release the prisoners to face a squadron of men approaching. They were all armed heavily. They didn't appear to have seen Pietor yet and were approaching quite dangerously.

"I think that's my call." Pietor said "Unless you want me to give the order…?"

He smirked at Nero slightly and slid past.

"Oh and Natalya." he said, looking at her "Stay warm."

Raven just returned his look coldly. Nero didn't try to stop him from leaving. It wasn't worth it.

Pietor called something in Russian to his men. He clearly knew that fighting was an unwise risk. He spoke to them and the leader nodded once, gesturing at him to follow.

Nero watched until he was out of sight and then his men resumed loading the prisoners. The Colonel still watched in the distance.

"What happened?" Nero asked.

Raven let out a breath "He attacked me in the forest after I had revived from the attack on our Shroud."

"Where did you end up?" Nero asked.

"A bit more than ten miles off here." Raven replied "He didn't seem particularly hostile and decided to strike up a team with me."

"You're injured." Nero said, nodding at her leg "Did he do that?"

Raven shook her head "No. That happened when I landed."

Nero seemed like he was waiting for her to say more about the subject of Pietor Furan, but she stayed silent. He simply turned, gesturing at her.

"Let's get that looked at."

 **Okay so writing this was random and I really suck at random writing so sorry! Please enjoy!**


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